


Pillow Forts and Thunderstorms

by sunflowersandsunshining



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Cute, Dark Hour, F/M, Fluff, pillow fort, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 02:59:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17858966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowersandsunshining/pseuds/sunflowersandsunshining





	Pillow Forts and Thunderstorms

Shinjiro wasn’t easily scared. 

But those lightning strikes, those jagged spikes illuminating the crawling Shadows outside his window, and the rain beating down on the roof, that unsettled him. Thunder broke through his mind, waking him from a sleepless slumber as sickly green clouds rolled past his window.

His eyes fluttered open as a small knock found its way through the waves of sound. It was a tiny, frantic knock, made by equally tiny, frantic fists. 

Shinjiro grunted, drifting slowly out of his restless sleep. His feet hit the floor, every step echoing in a fearful yelp from the creaking floorboards as he found his way to the door. He opened it slowly, half-expecting a Shadow, only to find the figure of Minako shuddering in the darkness.

She was dressed in delicate red pajamas, her eyes staring at him pleadingly. “Senpai,” she breathed. “Can I come in?”

He nodded solemnly, half at a loss for words, half trying to keep from scaring the poor girl further with his low grumble of a tired voice. She stepped inside the room, fumbling against the darkness to find him, her sanctuary from the night. 

She did; she flung her arms around his chest, sinking into him with an urgency that sent chills down his spine. Her body was cold, like a corpse washed away by the sea; he pulled her closer, their frozen bodies intertwined in a quiet embrace. For a moment, the rain ceased, the lightning stopped, and they stood there, two numb souls trying to start a fire. 

“Should I turn on a light?” he whispered into her ear. He felt her jump at the sudden noise before hearing a tiny sound of affirmation.

A restrained smile graced his lips as he let go of her, his body gliding across the room to the dingy lamp he kept near his bed. It turned on with a small buzz, casting a dim light upon his bare room. Minako pouted, like she always did when she saw the condition of Shinjiro’s living quarters, her tiny footsteps ringing in his ears as she walked towards him again.

“Can we make a pillow fort?” she said in a small voice.

Shinjiro let go of his restraints, a smile slipping through as he let loose a laugh. “Yeah, why not?”

“Really?” she gasped, her joy lighting up the room more than the lamp ever could. 

He nodded again before a heavy sigh caught in his throat. He stared at his limp sheets and threadbare blankets, furrowing his brow at the sorry state of affairs. “I don’t have… I mean, do you have something we could use?”

Her face fell. “I guess I didn’t really… plan for this, huh?” She laughed to herself, a sad smile tracing her lips. She kicked the dilapidated floorboards with a resounding thud, the gears in her head obviously working themselves into overdrive as they searched for a solution to The Blanket Conundrum. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said gently, cupping her face in his hands. “Maybe we could grab some from your room?”

She frowned. “But that’s so far away.”

“Far?” He blinked. Her room was downstairs, less than two minutes away from his. “What?”

“It’s too far,” she repeated, her spark of joy dancing in her words. “Too far on foot. I need a ride.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he sighed, a chuckle building in the back of his throat. “You want a ride?”

Minako nodded, her trademark giggles starting to become uncontrollable as she paced around him. “No, I need a ride. Very clear distinction.” 

His heart skipped a beat. Despite himself, he found a smile on his face, and a warmth in his chest, even though her request was humiliating and made his skin crawl under his coat. “I can’t… I could… well...”

She cocked her head to the side, inquisitive. He avoided her gaze. She was so, so haggard; she knew, he knew, anyone who saw her eyes knew her fatigue was imbedded in her bones. But yet she still mustered that voice, that force, that self that glowed like the sun itself. 

So he grabbed her hand, taking his own piece of her sunshine for himself. His calloused fingers were rough against her soft skin, like he was oil, and she was the rose water he was trying desperately to intertwine with. 

“Oh,” Minako giggled, her shine slowly coming back to her. “let’s go, then.”

Shinjiro sighed, smiled, and did his best to support her, slowly making his way upstairs to the girl’s floor. Lightning occasionally broke the silence, gasping, crackling, crawling up their bodies and illuminating their forms against the cold dorm walls with a rumble. They were safe, absolutely; Shadows hardly ever even touched the dorm, but the air was still thick with terror and apprehension.

His steps were slow, careful, and calculated; hers danced around his, a careful ballet to avoid the prying eyes of their dorm mates. The pair climbed the stairs without a word, the thunder taking their words for them.

The door to Minako’s room creaked open with a squeal as they slipped past the door without a sound. Her quarters were light, airy, and smelled of her; he hardly found himself in that room, but when he did, it was always a treasure. 

“Over here,” she whispered, tiptoeing to her bed. She broke away from his calloused hands, grabbing an armful of blankets and leaving a trail of her light behind her as she started back out the door. “Grab one of my pillows, too, Mr. Single Pillow.”

He grunted in response, grabbing her favorite - and his, too - blanket and pillow before returning to her side; he couldn’t leave her alone, even if he wanted to. 

Then they returned to his room, quietly slipping in without a single word exchanged. 

Minako flung the blankets to the side, throwing herself onto his bed with a resounding thump. She pulled his covers around her body, the coarse fabric somehow still soft against her gentle skin. 

“I thought my blankets weren’t good enough for you,” Shinjiro teased, setting down his blankets and shyly laying down next to her. His heart twisted in his chest, beating like it was about to choke - his breath caught in his throat, leaving him speechless. Being near her, being with her - it was hazy, a dreamlike, sunshine-filled haze that chased away the darkness of the night. 

He flung a lazy arm around her, pulling her into his chest, into his heart. She hummed, and he felt her smile against him, her arms now stretched across his form. 

“We have a fort to build,” she mumbled sleepily, flashing her best puppy eyes in his direction.

“Yeah,” he said, not moving an inch. Her breath graced his skin in calm cycles, like waves against the shore, leading him to a world far, far away. He was - for the first time he could remember - actually relaxed. 

“So we should move,” Minako cooed, running a slender finger around the buttons of his jacket. “Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah,” he repeated, trancelike. Her voice was like honey in his ears, echoing, and clear as day against the muffled storm outside.

She giggled, rolling off of his body in a strained movement. The sudden wave of frigid air where she was hit Shinjiro’s body like a truck, bringing forth a sigh from his lips. “Damn.” 

Her delicate feet hit the floor, quickly finding themselves hard at work. He joined her as she pulled his desk away from the wall, moving it towards the back of the room before draping blankets over its top to create a small enclosed space with his bed as the headboard. Minako pulled a few bobby pins from her messy bun and stuck them in seemingly-random places, trying to keep the blankets from collapsing in. 

Wordlessly, she arranged the inside of the fort with as many pillows as she could scrounge up, laying down her favorite blanket on the floor with a hum of satisfaction.

As she finished, Minako looked to Shinjiro with an expectant look.

“Huh?” He blinked.

She grinned and gestured to the entrance. “After you.”

Shinjiro shrugged, opening the flap of the fort and crawling in, feeling a bit embarrassed for even agreeing to all of this. 

As soon as he laid down, she pounced on him, pinning him to the pillows as she rolled into the fort. “Hi,” she laughed, her nose touching his. 

“H-hey,” he gasped. 

She rolled him over so that they were laying side to side, their faces touching in the cramped space of the fort. He could feel her breath in his lungs as she breathed life into him, leaving him starstruck.

“What's your favorite flower?” she asked suddenly.

“I… don't have one,” he whispered back, head still reeling from her sudden attack.

“Mine's sunflowers,” she mused, running a stray hand through her loose strands of hair. “They remind me of you.” 

“Why?” Shinjiro questioned quietly, his heart running from his chest - he felt like he could faint at any moment. “I’m not…”

“You’re my sun,” Minako said, smiling. “You’re tall, too. That’s important.”

They laughed, together, the sound filling the air and driving out the rumble of the outside. He pulled her into his arms, gently, naturally; their bodies melting into each other's and becoming one, warm entity. Their breathing slowly became one steady beat, in… out. In… out. 

“Talk,” he said hoarsely. 

“Why?” 

“I want to hear your voice,” he responded shyly.

“Oh.” Her face turned a rosy pink, her smile stretching across her entire face. “Yukari has a crush on Mitsuru.” 

“What?” Shinjiro snorted, running a hand across her back. “Why are you saying that like it’s news?”

“You knew too!?” She sighed, throwing her head back and staring up at him with a pout. “Was I the last one to find out or something?”

“Probably.”

“Hey!” she gasped, breaking a hand free from his bear hug and poking his nose with it. “That’s mean.”

He grinned. “Anything else?”

Her entire face lit up at that, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips. “Oh, I have so much gossip. I hear a lot of things,” she used her free hand to tap a finger to her ear. “These guys hear everything.”

Shinji thought for a moment. “Have you heard anything about Aki?” he asked, his voice growing softer.

“Only that he’s the biggest lady-killer in school,” she laughed, pushing a stray piece of hair out of his face. “Why?”

“I see.” His lips pursed into a frown. “You need to watch out for him.”

She cupped his face with her hand. “Of course.” Her face was serious, her lips forming a restrained smile as she reassured him. 

“Yeah, Miss Leader,” he laughed. “Do your job.”

“Babe!” she whined. She would've stamped her feet if she wasn't on top of him. Instead, she crossed her arms as best she could while being held, and exclaimed, “You’re so mean!” 

Babe.

The word rang in his mind, her tone, her voice, her everything. She’d never called him that before. 

And he melted.

“Idiot.” It was his turn to blush. He felt his face flush, his heart speed through his chest, and his stomach fill with tiny blue butterflies. “What the hell did you say that for?”

“You don’t like it?” Minako said, her sunlight fading slightly from her smile. 

“I loved it,” he whispered. 

“Oh,” she gasped, light blooming from the her grin. “Babe!”

“Alright, alright, don’t push your luck--”

She ignored him, messily placing a kiss on his cheek. 

“Urgh,” he groaned, but there was a smile painted on his face. “You’re a moron.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Minako giggled. 

There was a pause, a warm and lovely pause as they spent a moment breathing. The air was light, and fresh, despite the stuffiness of the tiny pillow fort. Moonlight streamed in from the window and gave them just enough light to see, and in that tiny, fragile place, everything seemed to be okay.

“Remember that fight I told you about? The one with the doll?” Shinjiro said eventually.

“Mmhm,” she replied, running her hand through his hair, gently pulling out the knots.

“It wasn’t the only one we had.” He laughed. “One time he punched me for taking Miki to the grocery store.” 

“What?” Minako snorted. “How did that happen?”

"She wanted ice cream, so I took her. Turns out she told him she thought I was cool, and Aki thought it was a date."

"No!" she screeched, eyes wide and hand shooting to cover her mouth. She was on the edge of a full-on laughing fit, and Shinjiro was in it for the kill.

"Aki got jealous, I got hit," he said with a grin. "He was screaming 'She's MY SISTER!' the whole time."

Minako broke into pieces laughing at that. “He--” she coughed. “He did that!” She threw her head back, her laugh echoing in the tiny space between them. Her smile stretched across her face, and so did his: her sunshine was infectious. 

“I couldn’t eat right for a month after that,” he chuckled. “And I never took her anywhere without Aki again.” 

She needed a few minutes to laugh that one out completely. “I can’t,” she gasped, tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe he did that!” 

She kept giggling, pushing her face into his chest as she tried to get it all out of her system. He could feel her joy reverberate through the air, sending waves of excitement through the tent that echoed inside his heart. 

“By the way, I’m sorry for almost breaking your desk,” Minako laughed through her coughing. 

“Huh?”

“Sorry, I just, got to thinking about us and--” she shook her head, giggling. “I forgot to say that when I came in. I’m sorry I almost broke it.”

His face turned a deep crimson. She was talking about their first time.

“Why are you talking about that?!” he grumbled, his arms releasing her a bit from his grasp. 

“I just remembered!” she said innocently. “I wanted to apologize!”

“You-- moron!”

“Ahahaha!” Minako broke into another giggling fit. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Don’t be mad!”

“I’m not mad,” he breathed, smiling.

“Thank you,” she said suddenly, nuzzling her head into his coat.

“For what?” The moonlight fell on her face and framed it perfectly, her crimson eyes catching the light and reflecting it back at him like ruby-red prisms. 

“Existing,” she mused, taking his hand and tracing circles in his skin. She thought it was soft. His calluses felt like heaven to her, his skin delicate in a broken, sad way; bittersweet love. 

“I love you,” his words slipped out like a gasp for air, a wordless confession; his breath of air. She smiles, gently, in that way she always does right before they fall asleep. Her sleepy, child-like, glowing smile. Her smile when she knows she’s at home. And she’s at home. 

She paused. “You know, sometimes when I miss you, I go for walks,” she began. “And I see people’s tall shadows and… I… I always hope they're you. I think that means… I think... I love you too.”

And in that moment, he was there too.


End file.
